According to Prince
(1982,
p. 4) "narrative is the representation of at least two real or fictive
events
or situations in a time sequence, neither of which presupposes or
entails
the other". Also, Sarbin (1986) defined it as "a way of organizing
episodes,
actions, and accounts of actions; it is an achievement that brings
together
mundane facts and fantastic creations; time and place are incorporated.
The
narrative allows for the inclusion of actors’ reasons for their acts,
as
well as the causes of happening" (p. 9).

If self-identity is equated to a narrative construction, then the self
can
be viewed as a story-teller or, in Hermans’ terms, as "someone who has
a
story to tell about his or her own life. In telling this story the
person
gives special significance to particular events (or groups of events),
which
function as units of meaning" (Hermans & Hermans-Jansen, 1995, p.1).